How To Pay Off Debt Fast: 5 Success Stories From People Who’ve Done It

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Debt can feel like drowning - especially when you’re the only person you know in the water.

​But when you see someone swimming, that struggle can turn to inspiration. While it’s fun to imagine paying down your debt fast, it’s also important to remember: just because you took longer than others, doesn’t mean you failed. Take these stories of paying off debt fast as inspiration and motivation, not as a competition.

​Here are five more stories of people who conquered their debt - and five lessons you can apply to your own situation.

Sell Everything You Can

​Deacon Hayes of Well Kept Wallet paid off $52,000 of debt in 18 months. To do so, Hayes had to make a choice that not many would have the gumption go through with: he and his wife sold their brand new car they still owed money on. The cash they got from selling the car, plus other things around the house, led to him paying off the auto loan.

​This was huge for us because it gave us almost $400 more each month to tackle the rest of our debt.

Deacon Hayes

​Takeaway: See what’s dragging your budget down. Is it a car you can sell? Or a home you can downsize? Getting rid of big monthly payments will open up your budget and allow you to pay off debt significantly faster.

Put All Extra Money Toward Your Loans​

​Eric Rosenberg of Personal Profitability tackled his student loans by paying more than the minimum every month. But that’s not the only way he was able to pay off $40,000 in two years.

​Every time he got a windfall like a work bonus or tax refund, he immediately added it to his student loan balance.

Eric Rosenberg

I was already used to living without it, so it didn't sting when I paid thousands of dollars into my loans at a time.

​Takeaway: Every time you find yourself with unexpected cash, use it to pay down your loans instead of splurging or putting it in savings. Right now, a perfect example of this is to use your tax refund to pay down your debt.

Take On Extra Jobs​

​Michelle Schroeder-Gardner of Making Sense of Cents got rid of her student loans by finding ways to earn more money and putting that extra income toward her debt.

I mystery shopped, was a staff writer, completed surveys, sold items from around my home and more so that I could pay off my debt as quickly as possible.

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

​She paid off $40,000 of student loans in seven months mainly using this method.

​Takeaway: If your debt payoff is stagnating, consider getting a part-time job or finding more ways to earn money. Remember, there's always two sides to the personal finance equation: you can spend less or earn more.

Cut Your Expenses

​Melanie Lockert of Dear Debt paid off $81,000 of loans in 9 years - the last $68,000 in 4.5 years. One of the first things she did was cut back on all her expenses so she could focus more on paying off debt.

Melanie Lockert

I got a haircut once a year at the local beauty school. I didn't have a car, health insurance, cable, gym membership, pets, and rarely went out.

​Takeaway: Cutting expenses should be one of the first steps to take if you're trying to pay off debt. Moving to a more affordable apartment or giving up your car will have the biggest impact on your loans.

Refinance Your Debt​

​When John Schneider and David Auten of Debt Free Guys saw they owed $51,000 in credit card debt, they knew they had a tough road ahead of them.

​Instead of going out on Friday for happy hours and dancing like we used to, we stayed home for movie and game nights. We put this savings towards our debt and brought it down to $40,000. We figured out how to lower our interest rates to zero and used the extra money to bring our balance down to $25,000.

John Schneider

​Takeaway: Whether you have credit card debt or student loans, refinancing can save you hundreds or thousands on interest and expedite your debt payoff process.

Filed Under: SavingTagged With: Debt, debt free, pay off debt, Student Loan DebtEditorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, or other advertiser and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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About Robert Farrington

Robert Farrington is America's Millennial Money Expert, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him here.

One of his favorite tools is Personal Capital, which enables him to manage his finances in just 15-minutes each month. Best of all - it's free!

He is also diversifying his investment portfolio by adding a little bit of real estate. But not rental homes, because he doesn't want a second job, it's diversified small investments in a mix of properties through Fundrise. Worth a look if you're looking for a low dollar way to invest in real estate.

Comments

These are all great fundamentals to paying off debt. They really all build on creating that gap between income and spending. The bigger the gap, the more you have to throw into your loans. This is exactly how I was able to crush my law school loans in about two years! For myself, it was combination of refinancing, doing some side hustles to throw some more cash into debt, and avoiding the lifestyle inflation that a lot of my classmates went through.